Refrigerating apparatus



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A DNVENTOR MLVBN $GROH Patented Aug. 2, 1949 UNITED STATES FATENT OFFICE REFRIGERATING AFPARATUS 'Melvin S. Groh, Preston, Gntario, Canada Application February 3, 1945, Serial No. 576,005 In Canada April 17, 194:4

3 Claims. 1

The invention relates to improvements in refrigerating apparatus and more particularly to refrigerating apparatus which may be used in connection with ordinary frozen storage cabinets and the like.

It 1s an object of the invention to provide refrigerating apparatus in which one or more chambers may be maintained above the general temperature of the freezing chamber.

It is also an object of the invention to provide refrigerating apparatus in which one or more chambers having simple closures will maintain their contents cool Without becoming frozen.

It is a further object of the invention to furu nish refrigerating apparatus having easily accessible chambers therein which may be easily maintained at different variable temperatures.

With these and other objects in view the inn vention generally includes a freezing or cooling chamber having a plurality of closures in conjunction with which smaller cooled chambers having an insulated portion and a non-insulated portion are mounted. The smaller cooled chambers are designed to be detachably mountable in any one or all of the closure apertures and their number can be varied as storage requirements demand.

In the prior art, the structures generally employed are of two types, the first comprising a freezing chamber or plurality of such chambers adapted to be maintained at a more or less xed temperature at or below freezing point, and a second type wherein more than one temperature is used. In practice these structures have certain defects since in the first type it is not always convenient to have the contents of the chambers become frozen and the extensive complication of parts necessitated in the second type renders them expensive and diflicult to operate without giving any control over intermediate ranges of temperature. The instant invention, on the other hand, enables structures of either of these types to be used while permitting certain chambers to be held at variable temperatures which maintain their contents in a cool condition, without freezing.

These and other defects are overcome by the present invention in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a refrigerating cabinet partially sectioned and showing a cooled chamber mounted on one of the apertures of the freezing chamber.

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional View through the cooling chamber and a cooled chamber.

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view through the cooling chamber and a cooled chamber showing the spacing means.

By referring to the drawings it will be seen that the freezing or cooling chamber Ill, which is cooled by any suitable means such as the refrigerant coils Illa which are supplied with refrigerant from a suitable condensing unit (not shown), has the usual closures |I and I2 in its upper surface I3. In the drawings the third closure means has been removed from the aperture I4 in the top surface I3 and on to the aperture the cooled chamber I5 is mounted. Cooled chambers I 5 could, however, be mounted in any or all of the apertures.

By reference to Figure 2 it will be seen that the cooled chamber generally comprises the inner liner I6 made lof any suitable good heat-conducting material and having the upper closure member I'I therein. It will be observed that the external upper portion and the lower internal portion of the heat-conducting liner I6 are insulated as indicated by the numerals I8 and la, the external insulation having the lower shoulders I9 and 20 which are adapted to be seated upon the corresponding rectangular rabbet 2| formed in the upper surface I3 of the freezing chamber. The lower portion 22 of the heat-conducting liner I6 thus is in heat exchange relation with the interior of the freezing or cooling cabinet.

The spacing of the cooled chamber I5 from the freezing or cooling chamber I0 may be effected by the spacing member represented in Figure 3 by the numeral 23, and made of non-conducting material shaped to fit the rabbet 2 I.

In operation the cooled chamber I5 is mounted as indicated in Figure 1, and it will be evident that the temperature within the insulated portion of the liner I6 will depend upon the amount of exteriorly uninsulated portion 22 which is in heat exchange relation with the freezing chamber ID, and since this may be controlled by the insertion of spacers 23, it is easy to control the temperature therein throughout at a point above that of the freezing chamber. A further means of controlling the temperature inside the liner is provided by the thickness of the insulation I8 and I8a, and thus variations in the extent and thickness of the inner and outer insulation of the liner, combined with variations in the depth to which the liner extends inside the freezing chamber may be used to compensate for changes in atmospheric conditions as between hot summer and normal weather conditions.

It is also apparent that in referring above to the means of controlling the temperature inside the cooled chamber or inside the liner, the resultant of these means is that not only is the specific general temperature within the chamber under control but also the uniformity throughout the chamber is secured since it will be apparent that by insulating the lower inner portion of the chamber the cold temperatures of the cooling chamber are transmitted to the inner cooled chamber generally only by means of the outer insulated liner so that conditions whereby the lower interior space within the cooled chamber is excessively cooled, while the upper interior portions are cooled simultaneously at a relatively higher temperature, are eiectually prevented by these means.

It will be apparent that modifications may be made to the preferred structure as described, such changes being included within the scope and nature of the invention in accordance with the herein appended claims.

What I claim as my invention is:

l. A removably mountable storage attachment for a refrigerator comprising, a liner fabricated from a heat conducting material to form a cooled chamber, heat insulation on the upper portion of said liner, the edge of said insulation forming an external shoulder on said cooled chamber, said cooled chamber having an opening in its top to admit articles to be stored and closure means therefor, the portion of said cooled chamber below said external shoulder being adapted to project through an aperture in the cooling chamber of a refrigerator to cause it to be disposed in heat exchange relation with the interior thereof, means for controlling the heat exchange between said cooled chamber and the cooling chamber of the refrigerator, said external shoulder formed by said insulation being adapted to engage with the periphery of the aperture in said refrigerator cooled chamber to maintain said cooled chamber in heat exchange relation as aforesaid.

2. An attachment for a refrigerator as claimed in claim 1 in which said means for controlling the heat exchange between said cooled chamber and the cooling chamber of a refrigerator includes a predetermined amount of heat insulation on the lower portion of the interior surfaces of said liner.

3. An attachment for a refrigerator as claimed REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,938,925 Moody Dec. 12, 1933 1,975,177 Sherrlck Oct. 2, 1934 1,986,933 Wooll Jan. 8, 1935 2,065,986 Rice Dec. 29, 1936 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 10,357 Australia Dec. '7, 1933 

